indeed your pendants are awesome!!

I had the same dilemma when I started selling to the open public, and I found soon enough that the answer does not lie with you, nor any of us: it lies with the customers!

I now have a few options: silk cord, leather cord, organza, colored hemp and cotton yarn, chain and wire and even strands of seed beads in a few different lengths, ready for the customer to choose from.
the price of the pendant includes an average of the types and lengths of all options, and leather or chain incur an additional $2 or $3 from the buyer.
this way I can easily encourage the buyer to have 2 or 3 pendants for the same “hanger” (and at a discount, so it would be even more tempting).

when the bail is not large enough to go over the clasp, I show the buyer how to make a lark’s head knot into the bail (easy to find on youTube too, eg:
youtube.com/watch?v=Rq2DrBJoRRM).
I also always have spare bails, clasps and suchlike with me, along with pliers, so I can change the “hanger” to the buyer’s pleasure.
I also have spare lengths of the hanging options with me, in case a buyer wants metal-free closing solutions: learning how to do sliding knots is very useful
(youtube.com/watch?v=W2GhB8k7vBw) but just knotting up a bead and a loop is good enough.

I found that it impressed the buyer no end to see how you work in front of them, and they suddenly get to appreciate how much work, knowledge and talent goes into making something that looks so simple…

good luck!
irina

Ann, so we have another who has the same experiences as I do with the handmade clasps. If you haven’t made your own clasps before, please do not be intimidated and think that it will add a huge amount of time and there fore greatly increasing your costs. Sure, there are very elaborate clasps that can be hand made, but there are so very many that are quick, easy and cheap to make. If you haven’t made any in the past, take a look on youtube to get an idea of a few, then take it from there and create ones that you love for your pieces.

The only other comment I would make is that my customers do not like ribbon cords because they get dirty and cannot be cleaned, so I rarely use them. I like someone’s comment about fake leather or pleather as opposed to leather because I find that despite how often I tell people not to wear their jewelry in the shower or when swimming, they do it anyway, and you know what happens to leather when it gets wet!

First, your work is so lovely that the cord should (as Pam and SJ noted above) complement your pendant, and I think a metal chain might detract rather than enhance the design. The black cord is really lovely and a strong design element. Here in California, I find more and more customers prefer fake leather or pleather cords to leather. I have worked a deal with my LBS and get it from a local source, but the cost is extremely affordable…I think I pay 13 cents a foot.

As for connection to the finding, either use cord connectors tha you flatten with pliers or the most economicl way is just to wire wrp the ends. I use a small strip of silver fill 1/2 round in 18 gauge to wrap the cord ends. Put the finding (clasp or eye) on the cord first, fold about 1 inch of the end over so that the finding rests in the “bend”. Then wrap the cording with the half round (flat side against the cording) with five or so wraps. Use a good set of flat nose pliers to flatten the wires, and you’re set! The silver fill will tarnish, but wrapped ends look more beautiful with aging, rather than worse. I can wrap and file ends in minutes, so you can wrap ends at the booth when selling or make pre-made cords and hav them ready for sale with the pendant. Good luck!

I guess I am generally a fan of the black cords. I have been using them for some time. I purchase bulk (found mine on Etsy for around half buck each), so the cost is quite minimal. As for the lobster claws twisting around to the front, this is sometimes about the shape of the wearer’s neck. For me, personally, this is an issue with any kind of neckwear, any weight or shape, any sort of clasp! I’m always fiddling to keep my clasps at the back!

Some reasons that I like the black cords (I work in sterling silver primarily)

1. Consistency of Display.
I like the consist look across the table. All of my pendants, regardless of color/size/metal, look good on the black cord, and visually, these cords compete less. The eye is drawn more directly to the pendant, just where I want it to be.

2. In my own situation, working in sterling, I was not comfortable with mixing sterling with plate. I like plated chain for beaded or other types of work, but with sterling pendants, the plate chains just didn’t match well, and besides, as a customer, I would expect a sterling piece on a chain, to be a sterling chain. But I personally can’t afford the cost of carrying sterling chains, nor do I want to polish them. With the black cords, there is no question what the customer is getting.

3. Offering cords as “giveaways” – keeping prices reasonable
Most women already have a few sterling chains floating around in our jewelry boxes, in our preferred lengths. The black cord comes free with the piece, but customer has the option of either wearing the piece as-is, or switching out to their own chain.

Again, all just one opinion!

I have found that stainless steel ball chains are wonderful for different types of jewelry. I agree with you that they are great because you can easily cut them to any length you want. I have found them to be very ecomonical to use for my necklaces and never have to worry about them tarnishing or turning anyone’s neck green. I order the 30″ chains and then just cut them shorter if needed.
I have a wonderful supplier on Etsty and they are made in the USA not china.

Hope this helps.

Tammy

Your pendants are gorgeous!

Or how about some strands of beads for your pendants? You could pick out one of the colours to highlight from the design.